Partners In Grime
by cate's corner
Summary: A tag to 1.06 North Shore of Oahu. Just whose car is it anyway? Well, it depends how dirty it is. Steve/Danny 'cargument'


Writing these stories is getting really addictive! I have so many ideas, though some stories are proving harder to write than others.

This has been one of the easier ones - it's only taken me today to write it. The idea for it came after seeing that wonderful car chase towards the end of episode six. Poor 'rationally concerned' Danno!

To be honest, I'm surprised he didn't yell at Steve about his car too. I mean, it was absolutely filthy after that chase. Someone, surely, had to clean it afterwards, and - well, cue cargument!

Partners In Grime

Technically, he was third in command of Honolulu's most elite unit, but at times like these – well, at times like these, Chin Ho Kelly had every right to wonder if that was entirely fair. He was the eldest member of the team, after all, and - yeah, right now, it showed.

With Ian Adam's killer safely in custody, Five 0's _alleged _commanding partners were doing what they did best. Knowing better than to intervene, Chin just shook his head, then grinned as Kono came to join him – offering her some dryly rueful advice as the cousins settled back to enjoy the show.

"Get comfy, cuz. We could be here a while."

"I think we should start selling tickets," Kono agreed, glancing around an equally amused audience.

Some of the braver ones had taken out their cameras to capture the best tourist entertainment they'd seen all day. And as both cousins ruefully knew, the main focus of their attention hadn't even hit his stride yet.

"Oh, so it's _my_ car now?" Danny yelled, throwing an extravagant arm towards his beloved, now battle-scarred Camaro. "So when it's clean, it's yours, but when it looks like a damn beach on wheels, it's _mine_?"

A pause, a few seconds of blissful silence, before it was broken by another salvo of rising octaves.

"So I ask again… why, when _you_'_ve_ turned my car into a beach-buggy, do _I_ have to clean it?"

Selectively deaf as always to this onslaught of insults, Steve just shrugged while pulling off his vest.

"Hey, come on, Danny, it's just a bit of sand."

"Just a bit of sand," Danny echoed, pausing for breath, before his voice, _and_ sarcasm, hit full throttle. "No, a _bit _of sand would describe a few grains… _not_ so much that the whole _car_ changes colour!"

Just to prove his point, he wiped his finger along the Camaro's flank, then waved it under Steve's nose.

"There, see? My car is _silver!_ S-I-L-V-E-R! _Not_ beach-bum brown!"

Studying said finger, Steve wondered if it worth risking his life to put his own suggestion forward. Beach-bum brown really didn't do such a classy car justice. Woodland Dream sounded so much nicer. Given the amount of foliage that he could see stuck in the grille, it was certainly more appropriate.

But Danny's cane was dangerously close to a vulnerable part of his anatomy, so he kept wisely silent – quickly pulling as much that foliage clear as he could, out of harm's way, before Danny could see it. If there was one thing more dangerous than a ranting Danno with a gun, it was a ranting Danno with a stick _and _a gun, and – damn it, those finely honed but still much mocked SuperSeal skills hadn't been quite quick enough.

"And what the hell is _this_?" Danny demanded, not giving Steve the chance to open his mouth, let alone reply, before he ploughed relentlessly on. "Oh, so not content with turning my car into a beach-buggy, you want to build a treehouse in it too? Hey, why don't we just rock it for a while, see if Tarzan drops out?"

Rolling his eyes as a still wagging twig threatened to poke them out, Steve glanced around for help – breathing a silent sigh of relief when he saw his trusty second lieutenant striding bravely into the fray. Chin. Thank God. Yes, he knew he could rely on his father's favourite protégé to back up his beleaguered boss.

"You know, if you stop arguing _now_, and _share_ the cleaning, you _might_ be home by midnight."

"Yeah, you could do the roof, boss," Kono agreed, so eager to help that her sense of tact and sense of self preservation now parted company. "At least you can reach it easier than, uh… than… um…"

Two blue eyes swung towards her, and Kono had seen that glare enough times to know what to do next - retreat to the safety of her own car, before Danny could hobble to catch her.

So grateful that he was off the hook, for a few seconds at least, Steve sighed. Okay, so it wasn't _quite_ the back-up that he'd expected, but… hell, he'd take whatever he could get right now. And while he'd never say it aloud, certainly not in Danny's hearing range, he had to admit his partner had a point. The car _was _a mess.

To his surprise, so was he. Rather like the car beside him, he was covered in slicks of dust and dirt, and he knew that Danny would feel equally icky. A cooling shower, and a fresh change of clothes, would do both of them the power of good.

Danny clearly thought so too, since he now slid into the passenger seat with just a silent glare for protest. By the time they returned to HQ, he'd just about stopped sulking, which was rather a shame – because the jet-wash that Steve could see hooked up in the parking lot was just too much to resist.

Parking strategically next to it, so he could reach it first, he waited until Danny was out of the car – patiently waiting until he'd moved safely out of whacking range, before he grinned and made his move.

"Yo, Danno!"

"Hey, what have I told you abo-… _gyyyyyaaaaaaaahhhh_!"

Coughing and spluttering, Danny shook his soaking fringe out of his eyes and glared back at Steve. Then he, too, grinned. He had a bucketful of water and sponges in his hand, and – awww, to hell with the car! It wasn't like it was going anywhere, whereas his partner - well, how nice of SuperSeal to volunteer for target practice. He was a Seal after all, so he'd be used to all this water, and… oh, _yes_! Bullseye for the Jersey Boy!

By the time Kono and Chin drove in behind them, several minutes later, it was all out warfare – a joint yell of apology following the sponge that bounced soggily off the bonnet of Kono's car.

Kono glanced at Chin. Laughing too, Chin winked back at her as both climbed out of the car and prepared for battle. Well, as her chuckling cousin would say, so wisely – if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.


End file.
